Buddy the Elf has been asking other people what their favorite color is for two decades, and somehow it still never looks old.
Elf is once again the most popular Christmas movie of the season on TV, beating out a bunch of old favorites and easily beating out the handful of new movies streaming on all platforms. Samba TV, a TV measurement service provider, monitored viewership between Nov. 10 and Dec. 10.
It’s that 8 of the ten most popular Christmas videos on linear TV and streaming platforms were all videos that had been available for at least a year. In fact, some of the most popular ones, like Elf, are decades old.
Elf is even more popular this year than last year. Viewership increased 14% between November 10 and December 10, 2023 through the same time in 2022, with nine million American families watching the film.
Elf maintained a solid lead over the second-largest holiday favorite, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, which was watched by 7. 9 million families in the same period. The third position was Home Alone (released in 1990) with 7. 1 million families. Santa Claus (released in 1994) and How the Grinch Stole Christmas (released six years later) ranked in the top six.
Samba notes that “many of the holiday classics aired on a mix of linear TV networks and streaming platforms, which bolstered their popularity.” In other words, it’s hard to avoid Elf, Christmas Vacation and Alone on traditional TV right now; pick a channel, and you’re bound to see at least a commercial for the films.
Although Christmas videos are universally appreciated, there are some attractive discrepancies in viewing patterns.
“The data shows interesting diversity as to who watches holiday movies,” said Ashwin Navin, Samba TV co-founder and CEO. “Comedy favorites like Elf and Christmas Vacation attract the biggest audiences overall, but they also tend to be older and less ethnically diverse. On the other hand, newer releases like Prime Video’s Candy Cane Lane draw younger and more ethnic audiences.”
The films themselves are more diverse. Black actors play lead roles in Hulu/Disney’s Best. , Cane (which ranks 11th with 1. 9 million family views) and Dashing Through the Snow; There are almost no other people of color in the five most-watched Christmas movies, which also include Santa Claus and Four Christmases.
“Streaming platforms are winning in 2023 with expansive catalogs that cater to diverse holiday tastes and offer a mix of tried-and-true classics as well as new content,” said Navin.
Among the six new streaming videos among the top 20 most-viewed, families with young people under the age of 19 are over-indexed. This is notable in the case of the film EXmas, which is over-indexed by 22% among families with 10- to 19-year-olds. 19.
Here are the 20 most sensible Christmas videos on linear TV and streaming in 2023, according to Samba.
Where to watch: You can watch Elf on Hulu, Philo, Sling, Max, YouTube, and Amazon Prime Video.
Where to watch: You can watch National Lampoon’s Christmas on Sling, Max, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Philo, and Roku Channel.
Where to watch: You can watch Home Alone on Disney, YouTube, Sling, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Roku Channel, and Philo.
Where to watch: You can watch Santa Claus at Disney.
Where to watch: You can watch Four Christmases on Hulu, Philo, Sling, Amazon Prime Video, Max, YouTube, and Roku Channel.
Where to watch: You can watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas on fubo.
Where to watch: You can watch Best. Christmas. Never. on Netflix.
Where to watch: You can watch The Holiday on Sling.
Where to watch: You can watch Family Switch on Netflix.
Where to watch: You can watch A Christmas Story on Amazon Prime Video, Sling, Max, Hulu, and YouTube.
11. Candy Cane Lane (New) 1.9 million
Where to watch: You can watch Candy Cane Lane on Amazon Prime Video.
Where to watch: You can watch It’s a Wonderful Life on Sling, Roku Channel, fuboTV, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, and PLEX.
Where to watch: You can watch Die Sling.
Where to watch: You can watch Love Actually on Netflix, Philo, Roku Channel, AMC, YouTube, and Amazon Prime Video.
Where to watch: You can watch The Polar Express on Hulu, Philo, Sling, Amazon Prime Video, Max, YouTube, and Roku Channel.
Where to watch: You can watch Genie on Peacock.
Where to watch: You can watch The Naughty Nine on Disney, Hulu, fuboTV, and Sling.
Where to watch: You can watch Scrooged on Pluto, Sling, fuboTV, Amazon Prime Video, Paramount+, Philo, YouTube and Roku Channel.
Where to watch: You can watch The Nightmare Before Christmas on Disney+.
Where to watch: You can watch EXmas on Amazon Prime Video.